Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea, angering China, which claims the hotly disputed waterway almost in its entirety.
China’s foreign ministry summoned the Philippines ambassador to China to lodge a “stern protest,” condemning the move as an attempt to “solidify the illegal ruling of the South China Sea arbitration case through domestic legislation.”
The laws, known as the Philippine Maritime Zones act and the Philippine Archipelagic Sea Lanes act, were signed in a nationally televised ceremony attended by top military and national security officials. They solidify Manila’s rejection of China’s claims to virtually the entire sea passage, stipulating jail terms and stiff fines for violators.
President Marcos emphasized that these laws signal the country's resolve to protect its maritime resources, preserve biodiversity, and ensure that waters remain a source of life and livelihood for all Filipinos.
China strongly condemned the move, stating that it “seriously infringes on China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.”
The Philippine Maritime Zones act demarcates key parts of the country's territory and outlying waters where it has full sovereignty and sovereign rights under international law and the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Archipelagic Sea Lanes act allows the Philippines to designate sea lanes and air routes in the archipelago for foreign transit under its regulation and in compliance with international law.
Despite China's aggressive actions in the region, the Philippines aims to enforce these laws, which are based on international law and UNCLOS. The laws assert that artificial islands constructed within the Philippine EEZ belong to the Philippine government.
China has transformed disputed reefs into missile-protected island bases within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, defying international rulings. The Philippines' maritime rights are based on UNCLOS, Philippine laws, and a 2016 international arbitration ruling that invalidated China’s extensive territorial claims.
Washington has reiterated its commitment to defend the Philippines, its oldest treaty ally in Asia, in case of armed attacks in the disputed waters.
